Stuff Like That There
by EmaniaHilel
Summary: Crack!Fic, aka Silly!Fic Another series of oneshots based on a challenge list from lj. Expect nothing but silliness and fluff with these maybe some comedy if I'm lucky. 13: Masterpiece
1. 01: Teddy Bear

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

"_I want some huggin', squeezin'/ muggin', teasin' and some stuff/ stuff like that there!"  
_- Stuff Like That There, Bette Midler

**A/N**: Yes, this is another result of another challenge list. This one is _**15hugs**_. I might not do all of these. I just saw the first one and this idea came into my head and wouldn't leave me alone. I dunno...what do you guys think? Should I continue them? If I do them, I think I want to make these kinda comedic. (I want to stretch my comedy writing skills, since I think they particularly suck.)

_**01: Teddy Bear**_

Raven stared at the dark coal like eyes staring soullessly back at her for a _long_ while. When the concept that she _should_ say something occurred to her, she was at a loss. "It's a Teddy Bear?" she said, half question-half statement.

He chuckled, "I thought to replace the one you lost."

She blinked at him and looked generally confused, "I have never had one."

"You had one, the other night, at the carnival, before I told you guys that Starfire was in trouble, remember?"(1)

She frowned as she thought, the confusion not leaving her lips even with the memory to which he was referring. "That was a chicken," she said bluntly. "A _big_ one."

"Oh..." he flushed. "Sorry...I only noticed you had something fuzzy and plush in your hands..." he admitted.

Robin looked at the medium sized brown teddy bear in her hands and wondered what he should do. He had seen it and it had seemed a good idea. For some reason, he had felt very bad once he realized that Raven had lost her plush toy in the fight. He wasn't certain she had any plush toys and the idea that she might lose the one she had just because they had to be superheroes had unnerved him and so when he had seen the friendly, huggable teddy bear in the Department Store window, he had impulsively bought it.

Giving it to her had been another matter entirely.

It had taken him three days to gather up the courage to do so. "I guess I'll..."

"Thank you," she said, before he could finish the awkward reach for it. She pulled back, almost as if she were afraid he'd snatch it from her hands and her arms pressed it against her chest protectively.

_'She's hugging it!'_

The realization brought him such an immediate rush of joy that he couldn't contain the smile as he met her eyes.

Without another word, she stepped back another step and closed her bedroom door right in his grinning face.

_'She liked it.'_

He stopped and the smile fell off his face.

_'Didn't she?'_

He started to step away but with a quick rush of wind, the door opened again, stalling him. He turned to face her and quirked a brow in silent question. She was still hugging the toy to her chest, albeit unconsciously.

"I do not like chickens," she said flatly.

He looked at her in surprise, wondering whether or not the simple statement had been Raven-Speak for saying she liked the Teddy Bear more than she had liked the Chicken she lost, but she was gone back behind the door to her room before he could even figure out how to ask.

Smiling goofily, he walked toward his room.

_'She liked it,'_ he assured himself.

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**Notes:**

(1) Episode, _Sisters_


	2. 02: Glomp!

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

"_I want some huggin', squeezin'/ muggin', teasin' and some stuff/ stuff like that there!"  
_- Stuff Like That There, Bette Midler

**A/N:** This is what happens when you people encourage me.

This is so totally Fic!Crack. As a matter of fact, these 15 challenges are likely to produce _only_ Fic!Crack, so be warned. I can see _most_ of this actually happening, through to about the last 249 words. (I counted.) Those last 249 words include a moment of rather blatant OOC-ness on Raven's part that I find I can take absolutely no responsibility for. I blame my muse's silliness for it entirely.

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_**02: Glomp!**_

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Raven didn't want to be answering fan-email. She only have to do it once every month and she didn't have to answer every email. She and Robin had negotiated until she agreed to answering email once every month and answering only 100 emails every month.

She mostly picked to answer the children's emails. They were the sincerest and simplest, not to mention the easiest. Some of the stuff people wrote to her was disgusting. In the few months she'd been answering emails, she'd had about 200 marriage proposals, and double the amount of proposals of a much less honorable sort.

Some of the things people wrote to her was heartbreaking. Teenage girls who wrote to her because they felt only she could understand their need to protect themselves emotionally or their feelings toward their parents. Some of them made her laugh (if she could've laughed, that is) and some of them just plain confused her.

With many of them, it was like she was reading an entirely different language. Hadn't these people ever learned proper grammar and sentence structure?

Reading one such email, filled with jumbled letters she was torn between believing was some sort of secret code or just plain ignorance or sloppy typing, Raven scoffed.

Aloud.

Which caused Robin, who was having a bowl of cereal at the counter not three feet from her, to face her. "What is it Raven?" he asked, "Another marriage proposal?"

Raven rolled her eyes and met his gaze over the computer, "At least those I can decipher..." she thought briefly and added, "...mostly."

Intrigued, Robin stood and walked toward her, "Are you going to go on another 'people have no sense of grammar' rant?" he asked, highly amused.

Raven scoffed again, "I'm not even sure this is a grammar problem," she leaned back so he could read the email currently on the screen.

_'U R So kewl! XD Thx 4 saving our skool! LT8R GLOMP!'_

"Pray tell," she said as he read and the grin showed he knew exactly what her problem was, "What exactly is a '_glomp_'?"

Robin looked at her with an amused grin, "Well...it's sort of like..." he thought of how to explain it, but wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. He knew the best way was to show her, but he didn't know where or how he could do that. _He_ certainly couldn't 'glomp' her.

And then, when the soft humming preceded their resident Alien, he had his answer. "I'll show you," he told Raven.

She raised a brow and leaned a little away from him, "Should I take out life insurance? Wear padded clothing?" she asked dryly.

"Just stand up, chuckles," he told her.

Warily, she stood just as Starfire walked into the room.

"Glorious greetings, friends!" Starfire enthused continuing toward the kitchen.

"Star?" Robin asked.

Starfire turned from her inspection of the fridge and smiled, "Yes?"

"Would you please hug Raven?" he asked sweetly.

Raven had a split second to realize that she hadn't misheard Robin's request before the grin split Starfire's face and the taller girl rushed at Raven like a typhoon. Unfortunately, that split second wasn't nearly enough response time and she barely managed to plant her feet squarely shoulder width apart in preparation before Starfire collided into her, her arms around Raven in a vice like grip, nearly propelling her to a graceless encounter with the ground.

Robin walked behind Starfire so that he was within Raven's view, "That," he said, grinning, "is a glomp."

"I..." Raven rasped, lacking oxygen for any further comment, "...see."

"Of course, not everyone has Starfire's enthusiasm..." Robin said casually.

"Speaking of which..." Raven raised her arms attempting to pry Star's from around her, "Star...?" she trailed off, hoping the girl would realize she was starting to turn blue. "Oxygen..."

"Oh!" Star exclaimed, letting her go immediately and absently helping her adjust her cloak around her shoulders, "I always forget humans need to breathe," she said happily before floating back to the kitchen.

Raven inhaled a deep lungful of air and exhaled slowly, relishing the oxygen for a moment before turning to glare at Robin, "You couldn't have just described that?"

Robin shook his head, "Fraid not," he said without an ounce of regret. He shrugged and walked back toward the kitchen and his unfinished bowl of Corn Flakes.

Raven watched him go and had one of her rare moments of impulsiveness.

Robin sensed her approach but barely had enough time to turn before she collided into his arms and used her momentum to push him onto the floor. Unfortunately, she fell with him and crumpled on top of him.

"Oomf!" he exclaimed, looking up at her in utter surprise.

She cleared her throat, "I thought you should experience a glomp yourself," she said, the blush creeping up her cheeks despite her attempt at nonchalance.

Recovering from the shock, Robin relaxed under her and grinned, "But I already have," he said humorously. At her raised brows, he pushed her hair behind her ear so he could see her face entirely unimpeded, "From you, as a matter of fact: after Trigon."

Raven's blush increased and she stood up, glaring down at him, "You couldn't have used that as an example when I asked?"

Robin chuckled as he sat up, "Well, it's not like I mind," he admitted.

Starfire peeked down at him, green eyes blinking in confused worry, "Is it perhaps an Earth Hugging Festival Day today?"

Robin shook his head and laughed, standing up. "No," he admitted, glancing at Raven, "But maybe we should petition for one?" he asked.

Starfire grinned, "That would be most glorious!" she enthused.

Robin nodded, "Most glorious, indeed."

Raven scoffed and turned on her heel, walking mutely back to the computer. Just as she suspected; answering email did nothing but bring about trouble.

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**A/N:** So...still think I should continue these?

**Thanks:** To everyone who said they enjoyed the last one and who said they'd be willing to overlook the Crack!Ficciness of these to read more. (If you've asked a specific question or if there's something specific I have to say to your review, I'll be replying through the Review Response feature). But I appreciate each and every review...I really do. ((holds reviews close to chest)) _My_ reviews and no one can take 'em away!


	3. 03: Stuck Together

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

"_I want some huggin', squeezin'/ muggin', teasin' and some stuff/ stuff like that there!"  
_- Stuff Like That There, Bette Midler

**A/N**: Oi! This is not only Crack!Fic, this is pointless, plotless Crack!Fic. I mean, I didn't even pretend to think up a plot for this. Just...gratuitous..._whatever this is_...

**Disclaimer:** I disclaim everything about this story, especially the fact that I wrote it. (Although it was fun!) Based on the challenge list found at _**15hugs**_

_**03: Stuck Together**_

"We are together clung, yes?"

Beast Boy looked confusedly at Starfire while still trying to move his limbs independently, "What?" he asked.

"The goo," she tried to explain, lifting her arm in an attempt to show Beast Boy the greenish slime that coated them all, and succeeded only in pulling Raven with the movement so that the shorter girl lost her balance and toppled on top of Robin with an ungraceful shifting of arms and legs. "It has stacked us together."

Raven growled, "Somebody tell her to stop doing that," she mumbled under her breath, so that only Robin who was directly beneath her and Cyborg with his cybernetic hearing could hear her.

"Who would've guessed that Plasmus' excretions would congeal like glue when dry?" Cyborg asked, attempting to lighten the mood. Of course, it was easy for him to see the lighter side of the situation since thanks to his bulk and slippery metallic parts, he was almost out of the grip of the goo.

"Dude," Beast Boy groaned, shifting around uncomfortably in the goo, "Do you have to use that word?" he asked, looking as if he would be sick.

"You better not even _think_ about throwing up, Beast Boy, or I'll make you lick this stuff off the floor, do you understand?" Raven's threat lost some of it's menace when she slipped on the mucus like substance and fell, once again, right on Robin.

"You know, not that this mightn't normally present a pleasant circumstance," Robin said calmly, looking up into Raven's eyes, "but the green goo kind of turns me off at present."

Raven was too disgusted, too tired and too pissed off to be embarrassed by the innuendo of her normally stoic leader. Consequently, she managed to work up a good glare before Beast Boy, in a fit of frustration, tried to turn into an octopus in the hopes of somehow having the goo slide off his skin. Of course, all it really did was topple Starfire and Cyborg like a set of dominoes.

Their resulting fall and crash ended up only twisting their already entangled limbs not only with each other, but with the goo. And when everyone stopped moving and there was time to speak, Robin groaned.

"That's gonna hurt tomorrow..." he mused aloud.

Raven tried to pull away from Robin only to find that her front was now successfully stuck to his chest. Giving up, she let herself fall back on top of him. Robin "oomphed" but couldn't help the grin at just the thought of the picture they must present. Luckily, they hadn't tripped into one another until _after_ they had made it into the Tower and hence no one was around to witness the sad lack of grace of the cities finest superheroes.

So, Robin laughed and let his arms rest around Raven's waist as she gave up fighting and let her head rest on his sticky chest.

It wasn't the best way to get a hug from her, he had to admit that, but where Raven was concerned, a hug was a hug.

"Come to think about it," Robin whispered, "Forget the goo...if the others weren't around, I could probably get used to this..."

Raven raised her head and raised a brow, "You are one sick bird."

He shrugged, (and Cyborg's arm hit his head in response). "No, just lots of pent-up sexual frustration."

She blinked a few times at him but before she could say another word, Starfire's sudden laughter caught everyone by surprise.

"It appears we are," Starfire said from somewhere near Raven's feet, "attached like strong adhesive."

When he figured out what she must have intended to say, he laughed all the harder. Which started a chain reaction that spread from Beast Boy to Cyborg and finally, if the slight shaking of her shoulders was any indication, to Raven as well.

"Yes, Starfire...I'd say we're stuck like glue alright," Robin spoke finally.

When the laughter had worn off and there was a moment or two of silence, Raven spoke:

"Well," Raven mused, "You always did want us to be closer, Star, didn't you?"

It took everyone a moment to realize that Raven was actually making a joke. But when they did, the laughter erupted once again, full force.


	4. 04: Ticklish

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

"_I want some huggin', squeezin'/ muggin', teasin' and some stuff/ stuff like that there!"  
_- Stuff Like That There, Bette Midler

**A/N**: I don't like this one much. You can tell that I didn't really bother to try and figure out why they're playing the game their playing or really what the game entails or anything. Sorry. I just frankly didn't think it was that important and explaining it all would have required quite a bit more exposition than I wanted for this bit o' crack!ficciness. I especially don't like the end of this one.

_**04: Ticklish**_

"Are you going to ask your question or aren't you?" Raven demanded in that oh-so-calm tone of voice that said she was just shy of actually falling asleep on him if he didn't do something interesting...and fast.

Robin was not about to lose the chance to ask Raven any question he wanted to so easily. After all, it had taken him plenty of careful conniving to get her to play a game of verbal Bullshit. "Don't rush me," he told her defensively. "I didn't rush you."

She scoffed and continued to play absently with the deck of cards they had decided not to use.

"Alright," Robin allowed, crossing his arms and meeting her eyes, "Are you ticklish?" he asked.

Raven looked at him in surprise. "You're kidding right? That's your question?" She shook her head. "After all that posturing and thinking, that's the best you can come up with?"

Robin was not deterred. "That's my question, now are you going to answer or do you forfeit?"

Raven sighed, "No--"

"Ah-ah," Robin said chidingly, "You have to meet my eyes when you answer, remember?"

Raven sighed again and swung her gaze up to his. "No," she answered succintly.

Robin's face broke into a grin, "Bullshit!" he exclaimed joyfully. "You're lying!" He couldn't believe he caught her lying so soon in the game and on top of that, that she was ticklish!

Raven frowned. "I am not," she insisted.

Robin pointed at her. "You are too! I can tell."

"First of all," she started superciliously, "I am not lying and second of all, you couldn't possibly tell even if I was."

"Of course I could tell," Robin insisted unconcernedly. "I can always tell when you lie."

She scoffed, "That's ridiculous."

He shrugged. "I knew you were lying when you swore to Beast Boy you didn't make his boom box disappear just like I knew when you told Starfire you ate all the pudding in the fridge when you actually threw it out..." he paused to see her reaction to his confessions. "I even knew you were lying when you told Cyborg that you didn't have any plans and went with him to the auto show last week," he said triumphantly. He grinned widely at her look of suspended disbelief. "I know your tells."

She closed her mouth and visibly controlled her expression so that it was sarcastic but not surprised. "My _tells_?" she asked pointedly.

"The little things you do when you're lying," he explained.

"I don't do little things, when I'm lying or otherwise," she replied, offended.

He laughed at her offense. "Of course you do, everyone does."

"Even you?" she challenged.

He smiled wryly, "I don't lie."

She raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Now that's bullshit."

"Prove it," he dared.

"You lied to the mayor two weeks ago when you told him it wasn't Beast Boy's elephant prints in the new cement outside City Hall," she pointed out calmly.

He looked momentarily chastised. "Yes, well, that was--"

"--A lie," she finished for him.

"So maybe I lied once--"

"Bullshit yet again," Raven insisted. "You also lied to Starfire about being allergic to the color pink."

Robin flushed crimson, "In a way, I actually--"

"--lied," Raven once again finished for him bluntly.

"Hey!" Robin exclaimed, "I seem to recall you chiming in and claiming that allergy yourself!" he pointed out defensively.

Raven was unapologetic. "Unlike you, I actually am allergic to the color pink."

Robin tried to read her expression but was laughing too hard to fathom any true reading. "Yes, I suppose it's something in the dye, isn't it?" he asked sarcastically.

She nodded, "Indeed it is."

Robin shook his head, "That's the explanation I gave her."

Raven shrugged, "So you got one thing right," she said unrepentantly.

"What does it do, make you break out in a rash of crankiness?" he tried.

"Actually, it..." she paused for the briefest of moments but before Robin could call her on the lapse, she spoke again, "...gives me a headache."

"Bull_shit_," he said emphatically, albeit laughingly.

"So prove it."

He couldn't and she knew it. "Okay, fine," he accepted. "But I still say you're lying about being ticklish."

"And I still say you can't possibly know that I am lying."

"Fine, then I'll prove to you that I can tell when you're lying."

"I await your proof with great eagerness," she said monotonously.

He rolled his eyes, but didn't bother to comment. He was too busy thinking of a way to prove it to her. "Alright, so say a few statements, some of them lies and some of them truths, things that are easy to prove like 'I'm wearing pink underwear' when you're really wearing purple or whatever and I'll tell you if it's a lie or not."

She heaved a long-suffering sigh, but leaned back and crossed her arms, apparently thinking of what to say. Apparently coming up with something, she met his eyes. "My bookmark is on page 156 of the book I left in the kitchen," she said, bored.

"Lie," he decided. Her expression remained neutral so he went to the kitchen and picked up her book, bringing it back to her and opening it up to the bookmarked page. He looked down at the numbers on the bottom center of the page and smiled as he read, "Two-hundred and six." He raised a brow of his own as he closed the book and sat back in his seat.

Her expression hardened just a bit with the smug look on his face and she thought up another sentence, "The last song played on my mp3 player on the coffee table was a country song."

Robin watched her face intently for a moment before deciding, "Truth." He picked up the compact mp3 player and the display flashed as he turned it on and expertly went to the last song played menu. He looked up at her and smirked, "Why, I never would've pegged you for a Keith Urban fan, Raven."

She grit her teeth, but thought up another sentence almost immediately. There was a repressed sort of smugness in her expression that let him know whether she chose to tell the truth or a lie with this statement, it would be a doozie. "I am not wearing any underwear."

Robin blinked, both at her statement, and at what he saw in her eyes. When the realization finally filtered through his head, his jaw dropped, "You're not wearing any underwear?" he sputtered.

She frowned and stood up, "Okay, that's enough."

Gathering his wits back about him, he couldn't help but smile, "Wait, aren't you going to let me prove that I was right and you were telling the truth with that one?" he asked innocently.

She looked at him and narrowed her eyes.

"Can I take that to mean you concede the point?" he asked, if possible, even more innocently.

"Fine, I concede the point," she admitted, starting for the kitchen.

He followed her, "Okay, so you're ticklish, since I caught you lying in that one that means I get to--"

"I never conceded that I was ticklish," she interrupted. "So you get to nothing."

He opened his eyes in blatant surprise. "I just proved that I can tell when you're lying or not, Raven!" he pointed out.

"About those other things, not about me being ticklish," she insisted hard-headedly as she crossed the kitchen for the cupboards that held her tea things.

"Fine, I'll prove that you're ticklish," he determined.

And before she could even begin to guess what that statement might mean for her personal space, he had trapped her against the cabinets and was being surprisingly good at holding her in place and systematically checking all typical ticklish spots.

Raven instinctively tried to get out of his grasp, but when she realized it was pointless, she gave in and resorted to staring at him in utter boredom while he tried to tickle under her arms first and then her neck.

Beast Boy and Cyborg walked in when Robin had one arm firmly locked around her waist and the other hand determinately poking at her ribs.

"Aw, dudes!" Beast Boy exclaimed, immediately diverting his eyes, "Not in the kitchen!" he exclaimed. "We eat there, man!"

Raven sighed her long-suffering sigh again and stepped away from Robin's embrace which had loosened with the shock of seeing their compatriots.

"I was just trying to prove that I know when she lies," Robin explained.

"Whatever you call it, man, do it in your room!" Beast Boy insisted, still diverting his eyes.

Raven walked behind him and smacked his head, "I think you've been watching one too many porn movies, Beast Boy," she said monotonously as she walked out of the kitchen.

"No, really," Cyborg asked, grinning, "What were you really doing?"

Robin sighed, "I was trying to find her ticklish spot."

Beast Boy waggled his eyebrow, "If you still don't know where a woman's special spot is, Rob-o, then I'd say you're education is sorely lack—ow!" Beast Boy finished, rubbing the back of his shoulder where a flying paperback had winged him. "Damnit, Rae!"

Raven continued to read as if she had done nothing, so with a glare which she ignored, Beast Boy turned back to Robin.

"As I was saying..." he started, only to be interrupted by another paperback book smacking him on the ass. "Will you quit that?" he directed toward Raven who was still reading as if she had never done anything else.

Robin chuckled. "Actually, I really was just trying to find out where she was ticklish," Robin spoke before Beast Boy could get himself into any more trouble. "In the cleanest sense of the word."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "That's easy, it's her--" he was once again cut off by a well aimed paperback to the back of his head. "Where the hell does she get all these books from?" Beast Boy wondered.

"You better stop before she runs out of paperbacks and starts chucking hard covers," Cyborg warned.

Beast Boy shook his head, "Sorry, Robin, man, have you seen her hard covers? They're huge!" he walked quickly away.

Robin wasn't interested in Beast Boy anymore anyway, he was walking toward Raven on the couch, "How come Beast Boy knows where your ticklish?"

Raven didn't look up from the book, "Lucky guess."

Robin narrowed his eyes, "Bullshit."

She looked up at him and her look was almost innocent. Almost sweet. She almost smiled. "Prove it."

Robin sighed and flopped back onto the sofa cushions to her left. He knew under other circumstances,he might have been upset at being thwarted from knowing what he was trying to learn, but he was used to that with Raven so instead, he conserved his energy...for now. Just because they had been interrupted didn't mean it was over. He knew it wasn't over and so did she. But he was content to wait for a bit. He had already found out quite a few things about the normally private Raven, after all.

Finding out any information about Raven was quite exhausting and he was certain that finding out where Raven was ticklish was going to be no exception.

_'Ah,'_ he thought as he let his eyelids flutter closed, part of his mind already working on a possible plan of attack, _'The lengths I go to just for a little information from that girl..._'

In the end, it was worth it, he knew. Exhausting and convoluted, yes, but also exhilarating and challenging and worth it. _Definitely_ worth it.

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**A/N:** As I said, I don't like the end. I like the banter between Robin and Raven about the lying alright. I kind of based the game their playing loosely on the "bullshit" game I've recently heard about. Only, they decided not to play it with cards since it was just the two of them.

**Spoiler:** Next theme is "Chocolate" and I sort of have an idea for that one. Although I probably won't get to it until after the bar (which is the 25th and 26th of this month)


	5. 05: Chocolate

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

"_There's always a price for what you want."  
_- Steve Perry

**A/N**: Crack!Fic strikes again! This one is different in two ways: one, it started out as being an idea for the "Quid Pro Quo" theme for my _Sweetest Thing_ challenge, but the idea sort of grew beyond the reaches of the 500 word limit parameter I set up for that. So, I set it aside and did a new one for _Sweetest Thing_ and sort of forgot about this one until I came across the "Chocolate" theme for the hugs. I thought, "hmmm...this could work!" and so I finished it with the "hugs" theme in mind. Two, it's different also because whereas the "hugs" themed vignettes have dealt primarily with the birds in the burgeoning stages of their relationship, or even less than that, where they haven't even admitted to feeling anything for each other or whatever, this one deals with them already in a relationship (as I hope I make clear as the vignette goes on.)

SO...it's **_very important_** for you guys to remember for this one especially, that these vignettes do not relate to each other.

**Thanks:** I'm so glad you guys have enjoyed these so much! Really. When I don't produce something that is at least somewhat serious, I tend to worry. I hadn't given in to the wonder that is Fic!Crack, not really, until you guys received these so well. I hope you continue to enjoy them.

If you've asked me something specific in a review, I will respond through the 'review response' feature on FFN.

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_**05: Chocolate **_

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Raven loved sweets. That, he had learned pretty early on in their acquaintance. That she didn't indulge in them at every turn only added to the specialness and the temptation of them for her. That he had also learned, much to his benefit.

"Looking for this?" Robin asked, trying to keep the humor out of his voice but knowing he was failing.

Raven went completely still at the sound of his voice, but didn't turn around. Raven was nothing if not deliberate in everything she did. Slowly, as if she were trying very hard not to do something drastic, Raven turned on her heel, her face in perfectly composed lines, revealing nothing. Her gaze flicked only briefly to the bag he was dangling by thumb and forefinger. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have even noticed.

"How did you find them?" she asked, her tone the only thing belying the emotion currently scurrying through her body.

He chuckled, and the sound sent a ripple of foreboding up and down her spine. "I am a master Detective, after all."

"Who snoops entirely too much in things that are none of his concern," she snapped.

He shrugged, completely unconcerned, "Be that as it may.." he let his sentence trailed off and made a show of looking at the bag, "You seem to have taken a liking to caramel, haven't you?"

Raven eyed the bag of gold wrapped Hershey's Caramel Kisses in his hand and barely refrained from growling. "For now," she conceded, because if she didn't, she knew he would just prolong the moment. She forced herself to take on a nonchalance she knew he knew she didn't feel and leaned back against the window seat where she had hidden the bag of chocolates, "So what now?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," he said.

Her eyes narrowed, "Bull," she said succinctly.

He laughed, "Well, you know how this works, Raven," he said sweetly. "If I find your stash, I get to ask a boon to give it back." He opened his eyes meaningfully, "It is only fair."

Her expression changed just minimally, and he knew the game was on in earnest now.

"Fair, yes of course," she enunciated, shifting her arms so that they crossed just under her breasts, pushing them up and against the pliant material of her leotard. "The question is," she allowed her eyes to take in his jaunty stance. "What boon shall you ask tonight, Robin?" she practically purred.

Robin wasn't fooled. This was the part where she tried to _persuade_ him to ask for something she was perfectly willing to give anyway. And as tempting as she always managed to be, that would be wasting a perfectly good boon.

"I'd say there are _at least_ 40 pieces left in this bag, would you agree?" he asked.

The seductress frowned, "Or less," she answered.

He rose his brows, "We could always count them?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Forty, agreed."

"So, I could give you one piece per smaller boon," Raven made a face and he raised his brow, daring her to interrupt. When she didn't, he continued, "Or, a _really_ big boon for the whole lot."

"What would the smaller boons be comprised of, do you think?" she asked.

"Oh, I dunno," he said purposefully nonchalant, approaching slowly, "A kiss for a kiss?"

She raised her brows, "Forty kisses?"

"Is it so displeasing a thought?" he asked.

She shrugged and made a concentrated effort to appear nonchalant, "And the big boon?" she asked.

He pretended to think about it for a bit, and finally turned to her, "PDAs"

She looked as if she were about to have a fit, "No."

He shrugged, "Alright," he allowed, reaching into the bag, knowing her eyes were following each movement of his fingers as he peeled off the gold and silver foil, revealing the chocolate beneath. He popped it into his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. "Oh, I see why you like the caramel ones!" he enthused, making a show of sucking the last of the chocolate from his mouth.

"That's not very smart of you, Robin, to eat your prize?" she tried.

He reached into the bag for another one, "I'm not willing to negotiate on the terms of the requested boon--"

"--ransom, you mean," she interrupted.

He shrugged, unconcerned. "Whatever," he finished. "But since I'm not willing to negotiate, I might as well eat them rather than throw them away."

He saw it the moment she realized that if he ate them he'd make sure to do it in plain sight where she could be tortured by every minute of it.

"How public would these Public Displays of Affection have to be?" she asked, stilling his hand from unwrapping a second kiss.

He looked at her and considered her question, "I'm not going to ask that you hold a press conference for it or anything, Raven," he told her amusedly.

"So, how public is public?" she asked again.

He thought about it for a moment. "Public is anywhere where someone can see us," he answered simply.

"Not necessarily in front of cameras or paparazzi or at a big party or anything like that?" she asked for clarification.

"Not _necessarily_," he conceded.

She thought about it, "You said Public Display_s_ of Affection," she repeated, emphasizing the plural of 'display'.

He grinned slowly as he realized that Raven had been bound to pick up on it. "That's right," he admitted, nodding.

"As in more than one?" she continued.

Again, he nodded, "More than one."

"How many is more than one?" she asked, once again for clarification.

Robin chuckled, "Are you sure you don't want to give up this superhero business and go to law school?" he teased. "You're trying so hard to define every bit of this..."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's because you are worse than the devil with loopholes and undefined terms and I need to have specifics if I'm to agree to anything with you."

"It wounds me that you trust me so little," his tone was a rather decent imitation of hurt pride.

Raven raised her brows and waited, deciding not to even deign that with a verbal answer.

He chuckled, "Okay, fine," he thought about her question. "Five."

She crossed her arms across her chest and he could see the willingness to wrangle come over her like a mantle. "Two."

He cocked his head to the side, "Four." When she opened her mouth to speak, he smiled, "And a half," he added as if in afterthought.

She looked at him as if she were disappointed in him. "Two," she repeated, raising her brows, "and a half."

"Fine," he was the perfect picture of regretful acquiescence. "Four."

She offered a deep sigh, way deeper than she would normally allow anyone to see. "I won't accept anything above three," she said in her no-nonsense voice.

"Well, I refuse to accept anything below three and a half." He shook his head. "Not for forty pieces of chocolate all at once."

"Thirty-nine," she reminded him.

"I thought we agreed it was forty?" he asked.

She smiled and it was not a pleasant smile. It was the kind of smile a cat would offer a mouse if a cat could smile. "You ate one."

He laughed. "Well, okay then," he shrugged. "For thirty-nine pieces, I guess I can take three."

She extended her hand to him, "Done."

He handed the chocolates over to her but before she could take her hand out of reach, he took hold of her hand and in one smooth motion had tugged on her arm so that she fell against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and when she looked up at him, he claimed her lips for a kiss. He didn't stop until he felt her arms wrap around his back and she returned the embrace.

Neither of them noticed the bag of chocolates fall to the ground, spilling its bounty across the carpet.

When he finally released her lips, if not her body, she smirked at him, "That's one."

He opened his eyes wide, "Hey!" he exclaimed. "That is not! I said _public_ displays!" He motioned around them at the Tower Common Room. "This is not public!"

She shrugged, "You defined public as anyplace where anyone could see us, Boy Wonder," she said smugly. "We are in the common room and any of the Titans can see us at any moment."

He squinted at her and raised a finger between them, "Why you..." he let the sentence trail off and decided to stop her smirk by kissing it away. She responded and he pulled away to look at her, determined. "But the next one is out there," he said, pointing outside.

She chuckled and didn't say a word. She knew that tone and she knew he'd probably already be planning a casual encounter with the press and how that encounter might end with him hugging or kissing her (or both) within sight of the cameras. She knew it, but hell, did she care? No, not really. After all, she got her chocolates back and what kind of punishment was it to have Robin try to kiss her senseless?

Even if it was in pubic, it wasn't like she was aware of anything around her when he kissed her anyway.

Yeah, he was just that good of a kisser.

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**A/N:** This whole idea of Robin finding Raven's stash of chocolates and basically ransoming them for public displays of affection was all **_GuardianKysra_**'s idea. She suggested it way back when I didn't know what I wanted to do for the "Quid Pro Quo" theme under "Sweetest Thing" like I explained above.

I hope she likes what I did with it!

**Spoiler:** Next theme is "Sleeping". I think I can do something fun with this one, eh?


	6. 06: Sleeping

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

"_It is the way we react to circumstances that determines our feelings."  
_- Dale Carnegie

**A/N:** Went through a couple of different approaches to this one. The one I liked the most, the one I'd called "Solace" is too deep and serious to be one of these crack!fics. I then tried to make it completely crack like, and that resulted in like half a page of something that could very well be crack!fic, but which I didn't have inspiration to continue. THEN, this one came. It's not exactly crack!fic of the level of the others that came before, but it does have that 'wtf?' quality to it, at least to me.

**Thanks:** I love all of you who have reviewed these, but I especially love those of you who review everything I write because I really appreciate your loyalty (even though I don't know what I could've done to deserve it.) If you've asked me something specific, then I'll respond individually through fanfiction dot net's review response feature.

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_**06: Sleeping**_

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She sensed the presence on the other side of the door before the person as soon as they stood before it and so she opened the door before they could knock. Beast Boy looked at her from the open doorway in surprise. She motioned for silence and waved him inside.

Because his focus was entirely on Raven where she sat up in her bed, it took Beast Boy until he was about halfway inside the room to realize that there was someone slumped in a chair next to the bed, fast asleep. And as strange as it was to see such a sight, Beast Boy's attention nonetheless went back to Raven.

"You're knitting,"(1) he whispered when he was close enough that she would be able to hear him.

She didn't even glance at the knitting needles lying on her lap or the strands of wool she had been forming into a scarf before he interrupted. "How very observant of you," she deadpanned, her voice low.

He grinned, "You look almost..." he trailed off at her raised brow and realized he might want to consider his next word carefully, "Homey."

She glanced down at the knitting on her lap and then back at him and in the shadows of the room cast by the one bedside lamp, he could have sworn she almost smiled. "Yes, I am the epitome of Martha Stuart."

He thought to sit down, but looked at the chair they had brought close to her bed and remembered the figure sleeping there already. He looked at her and jerked a thumb in the chair's direction, raising his brows in question as he did so.

"He refused to go back to his room," she answered. "I woke up from my healing trance and there he was, fast asleep," she explained.

"He's gonna have such a crick in the neck when he wakes up," Beast Boy observed, smiling nonetheless at the image of their stoic leader scrunched up asleep on a wingback chair.

"He is going to hate himself for falling asleep at all," Raven mused.

"You want me to wake him?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven's eyes fell on the Boy Wonder's features, softened in sleep and shook her head. "No, I don't think he'd sleep if he went back to his own bed."

There was a moment of silence and when Raven turned back to Beast Boy it was to find him staring at her contemplatively. She wasn't sure she liked the thoughtful look in his eyes. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he answered and although his face was turned away from the little light and she couldn't see whether or not he was smiling, she could hear it in that one word. "How do you feel?" he asked before she could think of anything else to say.

"Fine," she answered automatically. "There will be some bruising for a few days, but that will heal."

"I wish Cinderblock would quit trying to use you as a personal rag doll," Beast Boy said suddenly.

She shook her head, "Part of the job."

"But he picks on you," Beast Boy pointed out. "I think the dude's got a crush on you."

"I think he wants to crush me, not crush _on_ me," Raven corrected.

Beast Boy chuckled, mindful of keeping it low. "I still say he's got a crush on you."

"Funny way of showing it," Raven said.

"Not everyone is smooth as Casanova when it comes to showing their feelings," Beast Boy reminded her.

"Hm," was all Raven answered. "Are you saying Cinderblock is the supervillain equivalent of an eight year old who pulls his crush's pigtails?"

Beast Boy chuckled and nodded. "Like I said, not everyone shows their attraction the same way."

She snorted delicately.

"You should try and get some more sleep," Beast Boy said after a while.

She nodded and sought out Beast Boy's face in the half-light. "Thanks."

She saw a glint of fang as he grinned at her before turning around and walking out of the room.

Raven set aside her knitting and impulsively took hold of her extra pillow. She stood on slightly wobbly legs and walked carefully to stand in front of the chair where Robin slept. Gently, she lifted his head from the back of the chair and placed the pillow there, laying his head back against it.

She was back in bed, laying down, and about to close her eyes, when he spoke, "He's right you know."

Raven stilled for a moment, then settled the covers more fully around her. She wasn't _exactly _surprised that he had been awake during at least part of her conversation with Beast Boy, but she was surprised that he would so blatantly let her know he had been. "About what?" she asked.

"Not everyone shows their feelings in the same way."

She turned in the bed so that although still laying down, she was facing him. His silhouette hadn't appeared to move. "Yes," she agreed. "Some men take your ankle and toss you into a brick building to show their affection," she said lightly. They stared at each other in the darkness for awhile, unable to really look in each other's eyes, but able to feel the weight of the other's stare.

"And some can't sleep anywhere but where you are if you've been hurt." His voice sounded disembodied, and although there was the feeling of intimacy under the blanket of darkness there was the sense of disconnection as well.

"I prefer the latter," she finally spoke after a long while.

She saw him shift in shadow and the line of his silhouette changed. "Goodnight Raven."

"Goodnight, Robin," she answered, and closed her eyes, the image of Robin hugging her pillow the last thing she saw before surrendering to sleep.

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**Notes:**

(1) Yes, this is cartoon canon, that she knits. If you watch the episode, _Winner Take All_ when Cyborg relates how he was trying to call the Tower to check in with BB, you see Starfire sitting by the phone and Raven knitting on the couch. I've been thinking about doing something more prominent with this, but haven't come up with something concrete. BUT, it appears here.

**A/N:** Yes, I'm trying to explore the Beast Boy/Raven friendship. FRIENDSHIP. And I'm trying to explore Beast Boy as a character too. I am approaching the part in the _Moment_-Verse when I need to have them talk, both him and Starfire, so now I'm working on having them talk with Raven to see how it goes. Not on purpose, but like with **_Fireflies_**, the person that came into the room in this one was Beast Boy. ((Shrug)) Go figure?

Like I said, I'm not too happy with this as it pertains to following the general overall crack-y-ness of these one-shots, but what the hell, right? I hope you enjoyed it anyway.


	7. 07: Hold Me Tight

_**Stuff Like That There  
(Hugs)  
by Em**_

**A/N:** ...the hell???

I swear I have no idea. The general idea of this came to me a few days ago and I wrote it down as a summary kind of thing so I wouldn't forget. I was looking at it today after work to send to Kysra and I started writing. I stopped three-fourths of the way through and came back to it after dinner and before bed. Then I finished it.

Still, as an author, my first thoughts on it are, "What the hell is this all about, eh?" Cause I have absolutely no idea. They're not young in this, obviously. They're not too old either, because they're both still with the Titans and living in Titans' Tower.

((shrug)) Iunno.

Not really a Crack!Fic Hug Series One-Shot in the traditional sense, since it isn't funny or wacky. It's actually very emotional and king of angsty. (I think Estranged has warped my brain...my lever is stuck in "ANGST" mode. Somebody, quick! Send me a link to some good romantic comedy! **Abbie! Write ****_Aphrodite's Kiss_! **My comedy, crack!fic writing may depend on it!!!)

**Thanks:** What do I do with the thanks to these, huh? Anyone remember? Aw, damn, gonna hafta look it up, ain't I? Okay, so I looked it up. If you've asked me something, I'll respond by PM. (But not tonight...like, tomorrow or something, k?)

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_**07: Hold Me Tight**_

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"_I wasn't born to lose you."  
_- Bob Dylan, I Want You

Raven always waited up for him, regardless of what his reasons for going out were. At first, she didn't even know that she was waiting up for him, and it took her a good few months to correlate her sleepless nights and random insistence on finishing up a book or something she could theoretically do the next day with the nights he wasn't in the Tower.

The nights when it was his turn to run the night shift patrol were the worst.

That wasn't to say she didn't worry about the others being on night patrol at night, but it was only logical that she worry about him more than the others because the others did not hesitate to call for backup if things got out of hand.

He never did.

Hence, it was only logical that although if he was just out for his own reasons, she would be satisfied with hearing him enter the Tower, or his tread on the hallway outside as he went to his room while on the nights he was out on patrol, she wasn't satisfied by anything less than visual confirmation.

Around about the time she had realized that her sleeplessness was in direct proportion to his nighttime outings, he seemed to realize it as well.

They never said anything about it. That just wasn't their way.

Plus, it wasn't like he wasn't usually awake when she came back from her nights of patrol. More often than not, with a mug of Earl Gray waiting.

So, that night (almost morning), when he entered the Tower and found Raven sitting on the couch reading, he wasn't surprised.

She, however, felt her heart drop into her feet, even as she stood immediately, the book dropping onto the floor with a thud in her haste.

"What happened to you?" she demanded, something like fear in her voice. Her eyes were trying to take in every inch of his body, cataloging each of his cuts, memorizing every place where his uniform was ripped or torn and even how he limped just slightly as he walked across the room toward her all at once.

His look told her everything she needed to know, which was really, nothing. The details, she knew didn't matter. She could ream him later for doing something stupid again all alone. She wiped the questions away and stored them for later, putting a hand on his back and preparing to teleport them to the medlab. As soon as she touched him, however, he turned into her body, pressing against her and burying his head under her chin, his arms wrapping around her.

For a moment, she didn't know quite what to do and her arms stayed awkwardly spread away from her, her expression surprised until he tightened his grip and she felt the slight stubble at his chin rub against the side of her throat.

"I'll heal," he whispered hoarsely. "Just hold me."

Slowly, unsurely, she wrapped her arms around him, responding to the strength of his hold with strength of her own and she felt something strange when she did, something strange at the idea that she was allowed, at least for the time being, to clutch at someone, hold them close, press their warmth tight against her. She didn't have the experience or even the vocabulary to describe what that feeling might be, only that it felt right and comfortable, and like she suddenly wished there was a way to hold him tighter. "Robin," she whispered helplessly, feeling the warmth of his aura wrap around her as securely as his arms wrapped around her body. "What happened?" she asked, not thinking he'd answer.

He only tried to burrow closer. "I almost lost tonight," he whispered, his voice still hoarse, as if he'd been crying or screaming so very much. "They almost won, stupid mindless hoods, but they almost overwhelmed me, and when they almost had me beat, when I thought I wouldn't be coming home tonight, I had just one thought..." He trailed off.

"That you should have called us?" she reproved gently.

He pulled back enough to look up at her face, but he was so close. "That I couldn't lose you."

Raven's brows knit, "If you had called us, you wouldn't have--"

He interrupted her by shifting in her hold until he could reach her lips, stealing the breath from her argument.

Their first kiss was filled with need and desperation, the press of his lips on hers demanding her response, but his deepening of the kiss was tender the way she never could have imagined. When he finally broke the kiss, it was to tear off his mask impatiently and what she saw in his eyes made it impossible to regain her breath.

"Now do you get it?" he asked gruffly. "I almost lost _you_." His arms tightened around her and he brought his head down toward her again.

For a moment, she thought he might kiss her again and although she didn't have a clear thought in her head, she had absolutely no inkling of moving away. When she felt his forehead press against hers, the whisper of his longish hair falling against her cheek, she closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of him.

"I fought so hard because I couldn't think about dying without having told you how much I..." he whispered, his breath ghosting her lips. "I nearly killed them, Raven," he admitted.

"You didn't," she answered, her voice so low if he had been mere inches further, he wouldn't have been able to hear her.

"If they wouldn't have given up, I might have," he said plainly. "If it was between killing them or never seeing you again..."

Raven couldn't think of hearing those words from him. "Stop," she said, before she could think of it. She opened her eyes and pulled back, so that they were looking at each other again. "Don't," she spoke, her voice as close to pleading as it ever had been before.

He looked at her for a very long time, consideringly, almost fighting within himself. "No," he finally spoke, deciding. "I won't." He reached one hand to gently caress the strands of hair that always fell in front of her eyes back behind her ear. "I almost died tonight, Raven --"

She shook her head and tried to look away, but his hand on her face wouldn't let her. "--I don't want to hear that."

"--I almost died," he repeated, his gentle tone of voice belying the strength of his words. "And the only thing I could think of was you." He held her face in place. "The only regret I had, was never telling you how I felt."

She closed her eyes and leaned her cheek heavily into his palm. "Don't."

"You don't have to love me," Robin said. "And I'm sorry I kissed you before, I'll behave from now on, I promise, we can go back to pretending I never said anything--tomorrow," he said honestly. "But not tonight..." he caressed her cheek and it brought her eyes open to him. "Let me hold you tonight – let me convince myself that I didn't lose you."

"You have wounds--" she started inadequately.

"They'll heal."

"You're bleeding."

"It'll stop."

She met his eyes and exhaled, "I don't want you to be in pain."

"Then hold me tight," he answered.

She did.


	8. 08: Bear Hug

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

**A/N:** It seems like the Crack-iness is back! Boo yah.

Not beta'd.

**Thanks:** Special thanks to **_Absentia_** who when I told her that although I knew how the hug might actually take place in this chapter, but that I didn't know how to explain it, asked the crucial question, "Why do you need to explain it?" I think the pattern is emerging and I like to explain myself overmuch. Otherwise, I'll respond via pm.

_**08: Bear Hug**_

"_Once the bear's hug has got you, it is apt to be for keeps."  
_- Harold Macmillan

Aqualad was in the middle of a rather intricate account as to the meticulous nuances of Atlantian verb tense (the past participle conjugation was notoriously complex) when Robin walked into the room.

Even though she didn't turn to face the door, and her eyes never left Aqualad's instruction, there was a slight sign of recognition cross Raven's eyes as soon as the Titan leader walked into the room that Aqualad couldn't help but notice. He paused, momentarily, in his instruction to wave a greeting at the masked Titan, only to notice Robin's eyes were right on Raven.

For a moment, Aqualad felt strangely awkward – like the much bemoaned third wheel of American Earth culture, but Raven smiled a little (a small smirk, really) and nodded at him so he continued.

Raven's attention was once again his, but then Robin's arms wrapped around Raven's waist from behind, clasped together in front of her and lifted her off the ground before Aqualad could get three more words in.

There was a flash of a blush dusting Raven's cheeks, but Aqualad valiantly held in his laughter even when confronted with the look of pure mischief on Robin's features as he held the stoic empath about two feet off the ground (Aqualad hadn't really realized how much taller Robin had grown than Raven until that moment). But when he noticed that Raven's features had not changed, she hadn't even turned to look at the person hugging her from behind and only heaved a long-suffering sigh instead, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Robin," Raven spoke, her tone calm and as monotonous as ever.

"Raven," Robin replied, the humor evident in his voice, even if the tone was a decent imitation of hers.

"Put me down please," Raven requested, perfectly composed, as if she were not being held by the waist feet off the ground.

Robin pretended to think about it for a moment. "No, Raven," he announced, just as calmly, "I don't think I will," Robin answered.

Raven sighed again, somewhat defeatedly, and her eyes turned to Aqualad. "Aqualad, please continue."

Aqualad tried, he really did, but it was extremely difficult to talk Atlantian grammar structure when he was laughing so hard. When Raven sighed again and looked extremely put out, all hope of lessons were entirely and thoroughly wiped from his mind and he tried to apologize through his guffaws of laughter. "I---can't ---" he managed. "I---I'll---" he couldn't finish speaking between guffaws and opted instead, for a quick retreat.

"You see why I can never learn anything when you're around?" Raven was asking Robin as Aqualad hurried into the elevator. "You scare away all my teachers."

And before he collapsed entirely into a fit of uncontrolled laughter, Aqualad heard Robin reply, "Good. I don't want your attention on anyone else when I'm around, anyway."

And as he escaped, Aqualad thought that Beast Boy had been right after all. Life in Tower West _had_ gotten considerably more amusing since the two birds had declared their affection for each other.


	9. 09: Falling

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

**A/N:** There's another version of a response to this theme mostly done. That version was definitely much more crack-y than this one, but for some reason, when all was said and done and both were complete, I liked this one more.

I don't like the end, though.

Not beta'd. No one's even READ this one yet.

**Thanks:** To everyone who has supported this exploration into Crack!Dom.

_**09: Falling**_

"_The laws of gravity cannot be held responsible for people falling in love."  
_- Albert Einstein

For someone who could fly, Raven sure did a whole lot of falling.

That was the first thing he thought of that morning. He didn't know why it was the first thing to enter his conscious brain as it awoke that morning, but as the early morning sun creeped across his floor, he couldn't help but remember each and every time she had fallen during their long friendship.

There was the time Cinderblock swiped at her like a gnat, the time Rancid's mechanical pet shook off the telekenetic hold she'd taken of it, and probably half a dozen more. He had caught her all those times. Every time. Of specific note, of course, was the time they all fell through the elevator shaft and the time Slade threw her off a roof. He'd caught her then as well.

It probably should've served as some kind of hint, that.

Still, with all the physical falling going on, was it really a surprise that it took him so long to realize that even with his feet firmly planted on the ground, he had been falling too?

Yeah, okay, so he was kinda slow when it came to emotional stuff, who could blame him? He _was_ raised by the Master of Stoicism and Detachment, after all.

Still, even he, Captain Oblivious, had his limits, and the events of the night / almost morning before would've been enough to get through even the Batman's impassiveness.

Maybe.

It was certainly enough to get through his obliviousness.

Falling down defunct elevator shafts, being swatted at or shaken off by enemies, even being tossed off high precipices by deranged master villains could be explained. But tripping over her own feet?

And even when Raven, walking past him into the kitchen as he headed out tripped and fell, literally, into his arms, he still didn't get it.

Not right then, anyway.

"_You know," he had said, amused as he stared down at where she must have been too surprised to right herself and was still leaning into his weight so that only his arms around her back were keeping her from the floor. "It occurs to me that you seem to fall into my arms a whole lot." He grinned cockily down at her. "Could it be you've fallen head over heels for me?"_

_She pushed off his chest to right herself, and his arms reluctantly slipped from around her. She straightened her shirt and ran a hand through her hair and not meeting his gaze. "Maybe," shed spoke in her usual monotone. She lifted her head and met his eyes. "Maybe I know you'll always catch me."_

_She cocked her head to the side and when he didn't immediately respond, she walked past him into the kitchen without another word._

_'What she she meant by that?'_ he wondered. And the morning found him with no clearer answer to the question, he had come to two conclusions:

One, he _did_ always catch her. What's more, if he had anything to say about it, he always would.

And two, he always caught her because he was always aware of her.

He was always aware of her because he worried about her in battle. He knew she could take care of herself, just like he knew Starfire or Beast Boy or Cyborg could take care of themselves in battle. Yet, he still worried about her, the way he never worried about any of the others.

And if he followed that realization through to it's natural conclusion...

Robin sat up in bed and felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

_'I must love her.'_

"Well, shit."

_'Maybe I know you'll always catch me.'_

Could she have figured it out before he did?

Robin fell back against his headboard and groaned. She probably did. She was just smart like that. She'd probably figured out that he was in love with her since...well...since he'd been in love with her.

Which had been when?

Did it matter?

No, probably not. He loved her (he got more comfortable with the realization every time he thought it) and it didn't matter when.

All that _really_ mattered is that she probably knew.

Raven knew he loved her.

And what had she done about it? He felt the panic starting to rise in his gut. How would they get over this? How could their friendship survive?

_'Wait,'_ he thought, sitting up again. Since when _had_ she known?

He tried to call up every memory of every interaction he'd had with Raven. It wasn't hard (that should've told him that he loved her if he hadn't figured it out already) but still, he really couldn't tell. He remembered late night and early morning conversations with her, he remembered chess games and quiet moments, he remembered random outings, he remembered missions and encounters enemies. And during them all, in his memories, he was the one showing preference for her.

In all those memories, in all those times, what had been the only out of character thing she'd done?

She'd fallen.

Raven was notably not a clumsy girl. As a matter of fact, she was known for her calm, cool composure, and most importantly, her grace.

Still, she'd fallen into his arms.

The time the night before, the most obvious, the most out of character.

Raven didn't trip over her own feet.

She just didn't.

_'I know you'll catch me.'_

Robin felt the panic in the pit of his stomach release and something else spread in its place. Something warm. Something that reminded him of the feeling of having her in his arms.

Robin exhaled.

And smiled.

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**Spoiler:** Next theme is "Worse Days".


	10. 10: Worse Days

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

**A/N:** WAFF-ful. That's the only thing that describes this one. I wasn't sure it was…well, anything, other than a fluffy thing. I wasn't even sure it fell in with the theme. Then I read it to _**Kysra**_ and she insisted I post it as is. ::shrug:: I do as I'm told, so, here ya go. Hope you enjoy.

**Thanks:** 141 reviews for this collection so far. Wow. I mean…wow. Thank you, but…_wow_.

_**10: Worse Days**_

"_Comes a heat wave you can hurry to the shore/ Comes a summons you can hide behind the door; / Comes love / nothing can be done."  
_- Comes Love, Artie Shaw (1934)

There were worse ways to spend an afternoon than in the blistering heat, walking what seemed like endless miles upon miles, stopping occasionally and intermittently, and even then getting no relief (how could it actually be _hotter_ in the shade than in the sun? Of course, there was no breeze in the shade, by necessity of the positioning of the tents, but still, was it really enough to make that kind of a difference?). Robin had a very vivid imagination and a great capacity to piece together bits of information and form logical, startlingly accurate chains of possible events, so he had absolutely no doubt that any number of things could collaborate to provide for him a much, _much_ worse day than the one he was currently experiencing.

Standing under the relentless mid-July sun, so bright even his sunglasses didn't stop him from having to squint just to stare straight ahead, with small beads of sweat running down his back, while he very effectively dehydrated, however, he couldn't think of a one.

And then he looked up just in time to see her eyes light up in surprise as she reached for a discovered treasure and for just a moment, while he contemplated her, he forgot about the heat, forgot about the dehydration, forgot about the sweat, and the realization swam up through his consciousness that there was absolutely no place he'd rather be.

Well, he amended, there were plenty of placed he'd rather be (a pool or an air conditioned igloo being just two of the more notable options) but none that he'd want to be in if he couldn't drag her with him.

He'd come to this damn antique book fair every day in June and July and through in August for good measure, in a down parka even, if it meant spending that time with her.

It was scary, really, when he thought about it. He'd never felt that way before. Yes, he'd loved his parents and would give anything to see them again, but he was practical enough to know he wouldn't want to spend all of his time with them. And sure, he loved his friends, and braved pizza brawls, noisy game nights, and impromptu outings to spend time with them, but only because he didn't want to disappoint them, because although he enjoyed spending time with them, it in itself wasn't enough to put him through this kind of torture…willingly.

And like it.

Because he did.

He liked the way she looked up every so often from her digging in piles of books or perusing well-organized displays to look for him and make sure he was still there. He liked the way she smiled a little at him when she saw he was still there – nearby -- and their eyes met.

He liked the way she casually offered him her water to drink from, or wiped at his brow almost absently when his hands were full with their food in the afternoon.

He loved the easy way she fit close against him when she whispered some fact about the speaker they had stood by to listen to at one of the booths.

He caught the swish of purple hair as she disappeared into another tent, and smiled. She reappeared a moment later, spotting him almost immediately and approaching him with a question in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Absolutely nothing."

She smirked at him and grabbed his hand, "Then come," she said, "There's a book in there that you will absolutely love."

He probably would love it, he thought. He loved many things about the day, even if it was hot and muggy and he knew getting Raven out of an Antique Book Fair would be about as difficult as getting Cyborg out of a Car Convention. And he loved that too. But most of all, he thought as she started to lead him into the tent. Most of all, he loved the look on her face as he resisted, tugging her off balance to fall against his chest, his arms wrapping around her, and especially the look as he leaned down to kiss her.

'_Yeah,'_ Robin thought as she surrendered to the kiss, her arms wrapping around his waist. _'There were definitely worse ways to spend your days.'_


	11. 11: Childhood

_**Stuff Like That There  
**__**(Hugs)  
**__**by Em**_

**A/N:** FLUFF strikes again. Enjoy.

**Thanks:** I can't believe 158 of you have liked these little things so much to actually have reviewed. Thanks.

_**11: Childhood**_

"_It is never too late to have a happy childhood."  
_- Tom Robbins

There were children everywhere.

Twenty-two 6-8 year olds altogether, running, jumping, hopping, climbing, spinning, dancing, playing pretend, playing ball, talking, laughing, yelling…

Overall, it was a madhouse.

Pure chaos.

The two second grade teachers in charge of the loony bin took it all in easy stride while Beast Boy, infected by their effervescence, was running and skipping, and jumping, and playing as hard as any six year old; Star was being taught the mechanics of jump rope; Cyborg was alternatively pushing swings, turning carousels and coaching the impromptu dodgeball game and while Robin had been helping a group of kids across the monkey bars, he was granted a reprieve when they were drawn by the lure of the game. 

Raven, not particularly adept at any sort of game was reading from her book to a group of six little girls before they too decided to play the game. She watched, amused despite herself, as teams were formed and a quick rundown of the rules was issued by Cyborg.

Not surprisingly, Beast Boy joined them, and Star asked to play, as she was unfamiliar with the game and before she could wonder what had become of their fearless leader, he was standing next to her.

"Why do I have a feeling we're going to be asked to play dodgeball in the near future?" Robin asked.

"Because you are wise beyond your years with an added dash of exceptional foresight," Raven answered, glancing at him.

Robin laughed, but was interrupted from replying by the sudden appearance of five seven year old boys, tugging on his arms and a cacophony of little voices all talking at once.

"Whoa, there, little ankle-biters," Robin said laughingly. "One at a time or I can't understand you!"

"You have to come join our team or we won't _win_!" the one closest to him with tawny hair and a missing upper-incisor said with feeling.

"Their team hath Stharfire," another one added in a distinct lisp, "And we only have Beath Boy."

"They'll beat us for sure!" a third intoned.

Raven choked back a laugh and Robin barely held his laughter in. "But then it wouldn't be fair if you guys had another one of us."

They looked at each other in agonized realization until one piped up, "Raven can play with Starfire's team!"

"Yeah!" the others agreed triumphantly.

"No," Raven said seriously. "Raven doesn't play."

"Aw, man!" the first one bemoaned. "Please!"

Raven looked worried for a moment before Cyborg came to her defense.

"I'll play on Star's team," Cyborg said, shrugging.

When all parties involved agreed over the heads of the joyous tots, Robin went to join the group on the left side of the court with a shrug. Each of the Titans in the game was quite amused at the joy had by the tiny ones at their joining the game, since they knew that they would only aim to hit another Titan and none of the children at all.

"I wish I'd have had a Titan to play on my dodgeball team when I was a kid," one of the teachers, a pretty brunette in her late twenties, said with a laugh.

Raven turned to her right where the woman had suddenly appeared, but she didn't know quite what to say to her. The woman smiled and raised a hand. "It's okay," she said. "I know you don't talk much." She turned to watch the game. "We're just really grateful that you all came out today to be with the kids."

"It means so much to them," the other teacher, approaching the first woman's side added.

The first one nodded. "They need to know there are good people out there, heroes, you know?" she looked at Raven.

Raven's expression changed only the minimalist bit, relaxing a little around the eyes and the corners of her mouth. "Children must maintain their childhood as long as possible."

The woman nodded, smiling. "Yes," she said, a little surprised. "Exactly."

"Head's up!" Beast Boy called as the large, soft ball sailed out of bounds and right toward Raven.

If Raven had not been so used to tuning out Beast Boy's loud voice when not in a battle and if she had not been so involved in the conversation the woman beside her was offering, she might have heard him and would have definitely been able to _dodge_ the dodgeball. As it was, the rubber coated foam ball came sailing straight at Raven's back and the first notice she had of it was when she found herself suddenly enveloped in strong arms, and turned away from the danger, a rapid heartbeat beating against her back and Robin's cheek against hers.

She felt the impact of the ball as it hit Robin's back and looked at his face as he winced.

Raven's eyes opened in surprise. "What's happening?" she asked, a slight worry to her tone. Robin's arms were pining hers to her side and she couldn't have put up a shield if she had wanted to, which she considered.

"Robin, what the he—eck!?" Beast Boy called out. "It was just a dodgeball, not an enemy missile!" he added in exasperation.

"And now he's OOOOOOUT!!!" Cyborg called joyously, cheers from their team spurring his victory dance.

Robin remained pressed against her for a moment, his eyes behind the mask indecipherable, before he turned his head to face her, smirking for a moment before releasing her and turning to face the teams. "Sorry, guys," he said to his team who were showing their displeasure by pouting…Beast Boy included. "Force of habit."

"Eeeeeewwwww!" a little seven year old from Robin's team called out. "You _huuuuged_ her!" He made a cross with his two index fingers. "Now you've got coooooties!!"

The cry of "eeeewwww!" was echoed by most of the children.

Robin laughed and glanced at her, turning back to the child that had spoken. "You don't get cooties when you're older, rug-rat," he told the child, ruffling his hair much to the child's horror.

"Oh NO!" the child's friend exclaimed, aghast "Now Walter's gots cooties too!" Apparently, Robin's assurance of his lack of cooties went by unheeded.

"Hurry, Walter!" yet another boy exclaimed. "Jump five times and touch your nose with your tongue!! Before it SPREADS!!!"

Walter, who did as told, still pale and worried asked, "Will anyone give me a cootie shot?"

His first friend bravely walked to him and touched his forearm with his finger, tracing a circle twice and pressing in the middle of the circle twice while reciting, "Circle, circle, dot, dot, now you have your cooties shot!"

Relieved, Walter turned to his friend. "You're such a good friend, Jake."

"I know," Jake said, turning to Robin as he returned to the game. "You're out now, you know!"

Robin raised his hands and stepped back from the playing field, coming to stand next to Raven on the sidelines.

"That was kind of stupid," Raven remarked, her eyes forward on the game. "The ball couldn't have hurt me."

Robin shrugged, she caught it out of the corner of her eye. "Like I said, instinct."

Raven turned to him and waited until he looked at her before smirking slightly. "But now you have cooties," she reminded him. He laughed and she raised her index finger. "Do you want me to give you a cooties shot?"

Robin sobered, but his smile remained as he looked at her, and even though she couldn't see his eyes, she could feel the emotion coming from him in waves. "No thank you," he said. "If this is cooties, I don't want to get rid of it just yet."

Raven's lips quirked into a quick smile, but she turned away to hide her flush. "You just don't want to jump five times and touch your nose with your tongue."

Robin laughed, "You're right," he admitted and leaned close enough to whisper for her ears alone, "I've got much better things I'd like to do with my tongue, actually."

Raven flushed even brighter, but did not move away when Robin's shoulder bumped hers, and although a few feet away a trashcan rose from the ground a few feet and toppled over, no one noticed that either.


	12. 12: Fur

_**Stuff Like That There****  
(Hugs)  
by Em**_

**A/N:** There are several problems with this thing (not the least of which is that it makes like, no sense whatsoever...or...maybe a teeny tiny bit of sense, but not much at that). I tried to approach this one in two different ways, but one (which I kind of like) turned into this big hulking thing that had no end and that I didn't know how to end, and that totally lost the crackiness that is so prevalent to the _**Stuff Like That There**_ (Hugs) one-shot series. And then another that was going down the same path.

Then, today, outta da blue...this one hit. So, yeah. I figured, what the hell? I might some day post the other one if I ever mange to figure out how to end it.

Not Beta'd -- not even really read by anyone....yet.

**Thanks:** You guys are all great. Really. I'll answer each review individually through the review response feature if you've asked me something or there's something specific for me to say.

**_12: Fur_**

It was cold, and it was wet, and although she'd never admit it to anyone, she was tired. She'd never admit to anyone how much she hated the cold, either. Of course, she didn't hate the cold anymore than she hated extreme heat or the wet season. Living in California, they rarely got the extremes (except for heat waves), so she didn't particularly have cause to ponder how much she hated extreme weather...but she did.

Still, she didn't show it.

Despite the fact that it was minus 14 degrees, that little nearly invisible snowflakes were catching on her eyelashes despite the hood of her cloak being raised over her head, and that she was starting to lose sensation in the tips of her toes even inside the fur lined boots and thick wool socks, she didn't move about or shiver and the breath coming out in visible puffs was even and steady.

No one looking at her would know that she wanted nothing more than to stand under the spray of a hot shower until the water beat the numbness out of her skin and then crawl under the pile of thermal blankets and goosedown comforters in front of the fireplace she knew would be warming the hotel room, and forget that they'd have to be up the next day at the crack of dawn to fly back home.

A"t least, at the end of the day, she could expect to be back home in mild 70 degree weather instead of standing on the iced over sidewalk in front of some picturesque toyshop in upstate Washington waiting for the owner to decide he'd had enough lunch and open up so they could question him.

"We could go to the shop across the square and get some hot chocolate or something," Robin spoke.

She didn't bother to turn to look at him. He was from Gotham -- he was used to the cold. Nobody ever bothered to ask her what the weather had been like on Azarath.

"And come back to find out Mr. Dacus had finished lunch, but closed to go to dinner?" Raven asked.

"Well, you could go to get a hot chocolate and I'll call you when he opens up the shop?" he suggested. There was amusement in Robin's voice and she turned to _stare_ at him. He was leaning one shoulder against the brick wall next to the door, arms crossed at his sides and although the hood of his uniform's jacket was pulled up over his head and the buttons were done all the way up, he didn't look a bit cold.

She didn't ask him why he had put her on this mission with him -- the last time she'd asked as they flew out to Metaline Falls, Washington(1) got her no satisfactory answer and she doubted repetition of her query would yield any better results, but she thought it.

Starfire would've been a better person to come on this mission -- seeing as how the alien didn't feel cold at all -- and was a better people person overall. And yet, Starfire was back home -- probably watching that special on fungi on the food network...again.

Raven was _not_ amused.

And when she didn't say a word, Robin knew it.

"Aw, c'mon, Rae," he said, and although he worked hard to keep the amusement out of his voice, she could hear it anyway. "This place isn't so bad."

"I've been asked whether I've forgotten Halloween was three months ago, Robin," she said, deadpan.

"That was a little kid," Robin pointed out. "She didn't know any better."

"Twice," Raven added.

"Well, the old lady could hardly see, really," Robin excused.

"She thought I was dressed as Bat Girl."

"My point exactly," Robin said. "She didn't know any better either."

"Do you think Barbara would appreciate being confused for me?" Raven asked. "Because I can assure you that I don't."

Robin's lips quirked, but when Raven glanced at him, he pressed them tight together to keep from grinning. "I don't know," he said when he was sure he wouldn't laugh. "Babs has a pretty good sense of humor about these things."

"_Babs_ also doesn't wear a cloak," Raven pointed out.

"Well, you know...cloak...cape..." Robin shrugged.

"And she's a redhead," Raven finished.

"That doesn't show with the costume," Robin pointed out, but when Raven glared at him, he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm telling you," Robin insisted, "the old woman had glasses as thick as coke-bottle bottoms!"

"She needs to renew her prescription," Raven said.

There was silence for a few moments, before Robin spoke again. "So I guess that means you won't go get some hot chocolate?"

Raven was momentarily distracted by what she thought was movement beyond the multi-colored displays at the toy store's window and when she turned to answer Robin's question, he was suddenly in front of her, having cut the distance between them silently, even despite the iced-sidewalks.

Surprised, but unwilling to show it, Raven raised a brow and leaned almost imperceptibly back. He didn't seem to catch her hesitation at all, but only put his gloved hands on her shoulders along the outside of her cloak and brought her slightly closer to him.

By the time Raven was able to react, his hands were rubbing up and down her arms in a tantalizingly warm rhythm.

"What are you doing?" she asked, keeping perfectly still.

He paused long enough to pull her back and look at her face, but she couldn't read his eyes thanks to the mask in place. "I'm warming you up."

"Why would you feel the need to do such a thing?" she asked as if he had said he was attempting to read the stars in the crown of her head.

"You always get cranky when you're cold," he said simply. "I just figured I'd warm you up some."

"I am not cold," she argued, because it irked her suddenly that he had figured her out and spoke about it as if it were common knowledge.

He smirked at her. "You hate the cold," he told her, as if she didn't know. "Of course you're cold."

And before she could say another word he was back to rubbing her arms and then bringing her close enough so he could reach behind her to rub at her back and the faux fur lining of his jacket that slipped out between buttons tickled her nose and felt soft against her cheek.

xxxxxxxx

**Notes**:

(1) I just looked up small towns in upstate Washington, and Metaline Falls has a population of something like under 270. I couldn't really find pictures of it, so I just sort of used my mental image of the old town part of Quebec City in Canada to define the area -- what little definition of the area I did, anyway.


	13. 13: Masterpiece

_**Stuff Like That There****  
(Hugs)  
by Em**_

**A/N: **So, it's short. Sorry. And kinda sappy, maybe. ::shrug:: Definitely not really cracky at all, huh? I posted this up first at my emsscraps lj, but it was summarily ignored up there. So, I tweaked it a little and remembered to post it up here!

**Thanks:** To everyone who continuously reviews my stuff-- ::blows kiss::

**_13: Masterpiece_**

_"A photograph is memory in the raw."_  
~Carrie Latet

The camera angle was slightly skewed to the left, there was too much empty space along the left edge, the balance of colors was off, and the composition was not at all exemplary. What was more: the right part of his sleeve, where it billowed slightly, was cut off, and there was a spot along her right arm where the camera's automatic flash had overexposed her skin and made it look entirely too bright.

All in all, it was a supremely amateurish shot.

And yes, the fact that he was wearing a t-shirt with visible holes along the shoulders and where the seams at the collar was frayed from age, too many washings, and overuse and she was wearing one of his overlarge t-shirts (the one with the Trix Rabbit in faded and slightly chipped relief) that drooped a little off her left shoulder, and that both of them were spattered with bright splotches of sea green and burnt orange (colors, it should be noted, that repeated themselves randomly and in differing size blots, smears, and streaks on elbows, cheeks, fingers and yes, even hair) helped lend the picture a careless, clumsy air.

It had never (would never) occur to him to think that anyone who looked at the picture would think to compare it to an Ansel Adams or an Andy Warhol, and yes, he had had to sneak it out of the house before she could rip it up, but Garfield had caught them at _just_ the right moment, and her deep amethyst eyes were shining with mirth, and her cupid's bow lips were quirked up in an almost smile, and the purple hair she'd started to grow out some was messy and haphazardly picked up at her nape in a bun that had been dangerously close to becoming undone all day, and her arms were locked around his waist...

And every time he looked at it, he remembered painting their apartment and arguing about the color scheme (she had wanted neutral shades for most of the house with dark red accents, and he had wanted bright colors on nearly every surface--the sea green and burnt orange had _somehow_ been a compromise), and he remembered their friends bringing pizza, and how they'd all collapsed on the nearest available tarp covered floor space as the sun sunk below the horizon and how they'd been grateful they were able to finish, because although she had thought to make sure they had electricity, no one had thought to bring along a lamp.

Looking at that one picture, he remembered picking out furniture (arguing over materials and swatches and loveseat versus two armchairs) and living room curtains (convincing her that no, it wasn't appropriate to have blackout curtains over their living room windows), bath towels and toothbrush holders (and _why_, by Azar, would they ever need a heated toilet seat?), and teasing her about her attempts at cooking when he caught her picking out cooking utensils (wondering aloud whether she actually knew what that thing that looked like a medieval torture device was used for).

Passerby might look at the picture and wonder why it held such a place of honor (facing him at the end of his desk next to his computer where he'd see it every time his eyes strayed from the monitor), might mock the composition or the lack of proper lighting (might, even, tease him about it being a wonder that they'd actually managed to get any paint on the walls at all).

But, to Detective Richard Grayson (once Robin of the Titans), looking at that picture nestled into its simple black frame, was like looking at everything that he loved all wrapped up in ink and glossy paper, protected behind glass and everytime he looked at it, it made him smile.

Objectively, it was a far cry from a masterpiece, and sure, he had to hide it in a desk drawer every time the woman sitting next in the circle of his arms on the floor in the middle of their then barren (yet freshly painted) living room, her legs thrown over his lap came to visit him at the precinct for fear of her realizing he had it and destroying it on sight, but he didn't care.

To him, it stood for everything he'd ever wanted.

_xxxxx_

**A/N:** Soo, yeah. I kinda hate the ending a bit. What do you guys think? Did it suck?


End file.
